


eyeliner

by romanvacation



Category: Men's Hockey RPF
Genre: Halloween, Halloween Costumes, M/M, aka the second soft thing ive ever written, and brad is just as cocky as ever, because im incapable of soft/fluff, i decided not to torture y’all, in which patrice is a beauty guru, no angst i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-01
Updated: 2019-11-01
Packaged: 2021-01-16 01:44:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,134
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21263072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanvacation/pseuds/romanvacation
Summary: he knows it’s eyeliner next, and that’s the part that worries him the most. he uncaps the pencil and wields it almost uncertainly, having to move closer to brad in order to angle himself correctly. there’s a kind of heaviness in the air as he leans towards him, resting his hand on brad’s cheek to keep his hand steady.





	eyeliner

**Author's Note:**

  * For [saintbonafide](https://archiveofourown.org/users/saintbonafide/gifts).

“you...you look interesting.”

it’s the nicest thing patrice can manage to say about the absolute monstrosity that is brad’s face. he’s covered in makeup, and although patrice doesn’t know much about makeup, he’s pretty sure it’s not supposed to look like that.

“i’m taking that as a compliment,” brad says, breaking into a smug sort of grin. he tilts his head as if patrice for some reason needed to get a better look and adds, “what do you think?”

there’s a moment before patrice can find the words instead of bursting into laughter. he doesn’t want to insult brad’s abilities, since makeup seems difficult from what he can gather from having watched past girlfriends.

“it’s a good start,” he says sincerely, because he figures that between now and halloween there will be a lot more practice. hopefully.

“i think it looks good,” brad says, turning to admire himself in the bathroom mirror, reaching a hand up to dab at his face gingerly to the point where it’s almost comical. there’re bottles of all sorts of stuff scattered all across the counter. patrice thinks he recognizes mascara, but he can’t be sure.

brad’s confidence makes him cock a brow. “that’s the finished look?” he asks slowly, and brad pulls his gaze away from the mirror to look at him, black smudges smeared in places they’re probably not supposed to be.

“yeah,” he confirms, a grin spread wide across his face.

patrice keeps hoping as it gets closer to the thirty-first that maybe, maybe he’ll practice a little, but he never does. all the bottles and jars of stuff remain untouched on brad’s bathroom counter.

so when halloween does come, and brad comes over from work with two massive bags of candy he picked up on the way, patrice immediately tugs him by the arm into the bathroom.

“sit,” he says gently, and brad tilts his head at him, blinking as he takes a seat on the stool patrice moved in from the kitchen, and patrice turns to search the counter for what he knows he needs first.

“what are you doing?” brad says finally, still behind on what’s happening as patrice grabs what he knows is foundation.

“helping you,” he says as he pumps a sufficient amount on the top of his hand, reaching for the proper brush.

“what do—“

patrice shushes him, a tiny smile on his face. “if you keep talking, it’ll get in your mouth,” he warns him.

brad manages to be quiet for longer than patrice would’ve ever thought. maybe he should’ve given him more credit, or maybe the threat of getting a taste of makeup was enough.

he knows it’s eyeliner next, and that’s the part that worries him the most. he uncaps the pencil and wields it almost uncertainly, having to move closer to brad in order to angle himself correctly. there’s a kind of heaviness in the air as he leans towards him, resting his hand on brad’s cheek to keep his hand steady.

“hold still,” he says quietly, just barely above a whisper, and brad seems to get the idea as he closes his eyes, staying more still than patrice has ever seen him.

he draws the line as best he can, smudging where he knows he should, and he pulls back, surveying his work.

and admittedly, he gets a little distracted, gaze tracing the lines of brad’s nose, the curve of his cupid’s bow, and there’s a second of stillness, of quiet and intoxication, of a subtle kind of awe before brad breaks it: “can i open my eyes now?”

patrice nods before he realizes. “yeah, yeah, you can,” he says quickly, and he practically jumps away from him, the air crumbling around them as quickly as it was built.

brad turns to look at himself in the mirror, raising his eyebrows and tilting his head to survey patrice’s work. it’s the first time patrice has seen brad look in a mirror without bravado, without making it a show. it’s strange and intimate and nice, really.

“oh, i almost forgot,” patrice says with the sudden realization that he’d neglected to finish, and he leans back towards the counter, hand outstretched to search for what he needs, and had he been looking, he would’ve seen brad watching him — watching him with a expression like melted caramel.

when he does turn around, he’s pulling the lid off of a tube of lipstick, and much to his surprise, brad doesn’t object as he leans over him again, so close that patrice thinks he smells brad’s soap — like cedar and pine.

he’s careful to follow the lines, like a child taking care with coloring, though it’s hard when he can feel brad looking at him, entirely unsubtle, though patrice can’t fathom why.

he brings his other hand up to brush his fingertip across brad’s bottom lip, cleaning up the line — and his lips are parted in such an impossibly obscene way that patrice thinks his hand might jerk suddenly and smudge lipstick across brad’s face.

“done,” he says, and his voice comes out a little strained this time, as though he’d just woken up.

“it looks awesome. holy shit,” brad says, giving himself a final look in the mirror before his gaze turns back to patrice, and he’s practically grinning from ear to ear, though it still has that same smug look it always does. “how do you even know how to do all this stuff?”

there’s a pause of hesitation. “well,” he says slowly, capping the lipstick and setting it on the counter to provide a buffer between brad’s initial reaction and he time he has to look at him again, “i watched a lot of tutorials.”

another second or so passes. brad blinks at him. “you watched tutorials? like, for fun? not that there’s anything wrong with that—“

“no, no,” patrice clarifies quickly, feeling himself grow a little flustered. “i watched them so i could help you, actually.”

“you watched them to help me?” brad repeats, like he’s trying to get used to the idea. and then his face lights up like patrice has never seen, and he looks absolutely baffled at the idea that someone would do something like this for him. “that’s — that’s awesome. thank you.”

the tidal wave of relief patrice feels is unprecedented, and he breaks into a grin immediately, mirroring brad’s expression.

he helps brad get into his costume and he returns the favor, and they drive together to the party. save the planet or something along those lines, brad says.

and later, when it’s dark and the music loud and they’re off together in the corner, both leaning towards each other like two towers of pisa, patrice presses his lips to brad’s and smudges that lipstick he worked so hard on.

**Author's Note:**

> ahh so i hope you liked it. i would’ve written this way sooner if i had thought of it, y’know, NOT on halloween.


End file.
